Words Better Left Said
by Skater1ooo
Summary: Nerris and Harrison have always been at each other's throats. One day, Nerris says something that spirals into a series of revelations, as well as some personal growth. Maybe by the end they can finally be friends, and maybe, in the future, even more. Rated T just to be safe, because there is going to be some coarse language. Cross Posted on AO3.
1. Words Better Left Unsaid

**Welp, this is my first fanfiction, and I'm honestly not sure how good/bad it will be. I do not own Camp Camp, or any of the characters. They all belong to their respective owners, namely Rooster Teeth. I'd like to think this takes place some time after Season 2, and sometime before the Lake Lilac Summer Social. I might change that though. Possibly minor AU. Have fun.**

* * *

It was an average day in Camp Campbell. Of course, the average day in Camp Campbell was anything but average; the entire population consisted of one of the most colourful cast of characters you could ever meet. Cool kids, space kids, theatre kids, nerds, bullies, optimists, pessimists, boys, girls; they couldn't have been more different.

Yet despite this, they managed to get along well enough. All except for two kids. Two kids who had ironically signed up for the same magic camp, but had completely different ideas on what magic meant.

All of the kids were in the mess hall, eating a questionably nutritious meal prepared by the equally questionable Quartermaster.

At one table, sat a trio of what we might call conjoined friends. Three people with one friend being the only reason the other two are within the same vicinity of each other. That one friend was called Preston, and the other two were called Harrison and Nerris. Like any other day, they were currently engaged in a heated argument over something that would seem trivial to most, but to them meant everything.

Magic.

"Why can't you just admit I'm the better mage, Harrison;" said Nerris nonchalantly, with a disinterested, uncaring, cold look on her face, "you'll never be able to keep up with my sorceress powers with your lame, stupid magic."

"My magic is not stupid!" Harrison responded with a slight grimace on his face.

Preston sat next to them, nervousness preventing him from speaking out against either of his two friends. It was like this almost every day; they'd start the argument over some stupid little thing, quickly segue into who's magic was better, and then the climax would usually be a personal insult that had no business being said, making the two huff and go their separate ways... or get into the occasional fight.

Preston hadn't the heart to risk losing one of his two closest friends, and he knew they'd eventually stop; but it didn't make it any easier watching them fight. He'd tried to get them to hang out with each other and become at the very least acquaintances, and they'd even try at times to get along when he wasn't there; but it never worked out.

Little did anyone know, this day was the day when it would be taken too far, and would take quite a bit to be taken back.

"Listen here you ugly little dwarf, you're so far beneath me it isn't even funny," said the larper.

"At least I don't glue stupid fake elf ears onto my real ears," said the magician.

"At least my parents actually like me!"

There was an unusual silence at the table. Preston sat with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open; Harrison was frozen in shock, deathly quiet. Usually Harrison would have given a comeback by now, and to Nerris that was a good sign. It meant that what she said had struck a nerve, and for some reason she found joy in that.

She'd seen the way his parents reacted to him during Parent's Day; the way they refused to go up on stage, how he was upset he couldn't get them to enjoy his magic like she was able to with her parents, cementing her belief that her magic was superior. His parents probably found him as annoying as she did. She wished she'd said that earlier if it got him to shut up this quick; now it was time for him to get up and walk away like he did almost every morning, leaving her with a satisfied and confident grin on her face.

This, however, was not almost every morning.

Harrison's shocked face quickly twisted into one of pure rage as he flung his hand forward and fire spouted from his fingertips towards Nerris. Nerris had no time to react as her wizard hat and elf ears were caught on fire, and she quickly let out a screech, finally catching the attention of the other campers, and jumped up trying to find a way to put herself out.

Harrison's face once again changed to one of shock and worry; as David, the main councilor, quickly rushed into the kitchen to grab a fire extinguisher(which, by the way, was only there for legal reasons; typical AB, nothing too fancy), Harrison, looking down at his shaking hands, quickly leapt up and ran out of the mess hall, leaving a shocked Preston behind.

Gwen, the co-councilor to David, had quickly ran in and ripped the hat off of Nerris' head and stomped on it on the ground. The ears were glued on though, so the only solution was David coming in in a panic and spraying Nerris' head with the extinguisher he had acquired. Once she was doused, David gave her a once over.

Nerris' head was covered in foam, she was a bit out of breath, her heart was pounding, and she would have to replace the hat and ears; but, aside from some singed hair and a slightly reddened face, she was fine.

As soon as the threat of the fire was gone, Nerris immediately shifted the attention of her thoughts onto the cause of the fire. She was gonna let Harrison have it this time; he ruined her hat and ears, and he was lucky she had a couple extras. If Gwen and David hadn't been able to stop the fire she could be bald, or have some severe burns, or both, and she was gonna make sure he never did it again.

Nerris' eyes snapped to the table she was sitting at, and, realizing Harrison was no longer sitting there, quickly darted her head around the room looking for the object of her anger. All of the kids had been completely absorbed with what had happened to Nerris, and were notably confused as to why she was seemingly looking for something.

"What the fuck just happened?" Shouted Max, still sitting at the table next to Nikki and Neil.

Most of the other kids were equally curious as to what had just occured, and were quick to murmer small agreements of confusion.

"Harrison just lit me on fire! Where is he!? He's in for a couple lightning bolts, followed up with a couple kicks to the face!"

David was quick to interject and hopefully diffuse the situation. "Nerris, I'm sure he didn't mean to. If we can just have you two sit down and talk about this, I'm sure we can reach a reasonable solution."

"Didn't mean to my ass! Preston saw the whole thing, he knows what Harrison did!"

All eyes quickly snapped to Preston, still sitting in a form of shock. Once Preston realized he had been adressed, he started to stutter.

"W-well, I m-mean, sure he did it on purpose, b-but-"

"But nothing, I'm gonna wring his neck! Where did he go?"

David decided to step in once again, taking a gentle but firm hold of Nerris' shoulder.

"Nerris, I'm sorry, but I simply can't allow you two to fight each other. You sit here with Gwen, and I'll go look for Harrison, and see if we can't get you two to resolve your differences and be friends!"

Nerris was about to snarkily claim that she would never be friends with Harrison, but David had already walked over to Preston to ask if he knew where Harrison had went, and, once being pointed outside, began to go search for him.

Gwen came over and gently guided Nerris over to a table, shooing the other children away, and began to try to calm her down.

"Alright, what happened? What did you do to piss Harrison off enough for him to shoot fire at you?" Asked Gwen, smart, and observant, enough to realize that this likely wasn't an unprovoked attack.

Nerris was reluctant to admit that she was the one who instigated, but for some reason Gwen always managed to make her spill.

"We were having our usual magic argument, and then... I said that his parents didn't like him."

Nerris had mumbled the last part with her arms crossed and her eyes pointed indignantly to the side, but Gwen had heard her, and she immediately knew that resolving this was likely going to be a doozy of a problem.

With a sigh, Gwen said, "Let's go clean you off while David looks for Harrison. Let's hope we can get you two to not kill each other at the very least."

With that, Gwen walked with Nerris to the kitchen to get the burnt ears and foam off, and prayed that David could find Harrison and get them both to settle this reasonably.

* * *

 **Well, I think that came out pretty decent. Then again I don't think anyone likes to see fault in themselves. Next chapter, David looks for Harrison(with some help from Preston), and Preston thinks some things over.**

 **If anyone thinks that the characters are OOC, or perhaps that I could improve the way I portray them, then please inform me. Personally, with the evidence we have, this seems pretty accurate for me.**

 **Also, I'd just like to say, if there comes an episode in the future that settles Nerris' and Harrison's quarrel in a different way, or at all, then I'd like to think of this as a sort of alternative take, or even a minor AU.**

 **Review, tell me what you think, and have a nice day.**


	2. Thoughts And More Thoughts

**Here's Chapter 2. Updates are likely to be sporadic and unpredictable, but I'll try to minimize the time in-between chapters as much as possible. I like the appraisal I got for the first chapter, so thank you, everyone. Once again, I do not own Camp Camp, its characters, or its story; it's all Rooster Teeth(love you guys, thank you for providing me entertainment). I feel like I should say, with this being my first fanfiction, it's more than likely going to fall apart at some point, either in flow or in quality, but until then, I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

David had been looking for Harrison for roughly 20 minutes; first checking around his magic stage, and then other areas of the camp he frequented. He had had no luck thus far though, and he didn't really know where to look next. David was starting to get worried and decided to ask the only person who might know more about where Harrison may have gone.

David began making his way back to the mess hall, before seeing Preston sitting at his theatre stage with a thoughtful, and slightly melancholic expression; David ran over, unwilling to dilly daddle when Harrison was still missing.

"Preston! Do you have any idea where Harrison may have run off too? I've looked everywhere I can think, and I'm really starting to worry."

Preston seemed to snap out of his thoughts when David began talking, and after a moment of confused silence, spoke.

"Ummm, well, there is a secluded part of the forest he likes to go to sometimes in order to practice some of his magic in private. I believe he also said he goes there to think, so, he might be there."

"Do you know where it is?"

Preston pointed in a direction off into the forest, and, once being given a decent idea of what to look for, David turned to begin running.

"Hey, David!" Preston called before David could get too far.

David did a quick side turn. "Yes, Preston? Quickly please, I really need to find Harrison."

Preston stood for a moment, and then said, "I know that what Harrison did was bad, but Nerris said something way out of line. Besides that, I don't think Harrison really intended for it to escalate that far; don't be too hard on him, please, he's probably beating himself up about it right now."

With a second to reflect, and a quick nod, David ran off into the woods.

* * *

David didn't know what to do. Harrison and Nerris had been in tons of arguments before, and while he didn't like it, it was usually harmless. This time though, it was more than a simply disagreement, or a minor scuffle. Nerris could have been seriously hurt, and it was apparently because she said something that was enough for Harrison to actually retaliate. That was a first; Harrison never started the fights.

It was all confusing and worrying, and David knew he'd have to put in some extra work to get them to get along. He'd been focused on other things, namely Max and keeping the camp running without Campbell, but it was clear that this would have to be his next priority. Getting Nerris and Harrison to become friends was at the very forefront of his mind, but, he had no idea how he was going to achieve that.

They had different opinions, different personalities, different interests, and were all around just different. All of that added onto the fact that they seemed to despise each other, made a recipe for failure. David was nothing if not persistent though, so, he'd give it the old college try.

Coming upon a small clearing in the trees, David saw what he was looking for. A single ace of diamonds, neatly pierced onto a low tree branch. Not horribly noticable, but once you knew what to look for, it wasn't too hard to find. That meant he was in the right place according to Preston.

Looking around, David almost thought he had once again hit the proverbial wall with his searching, but he heard the soft sound of muffled sobbing a bit beyond the treeline of the clearing. Walking over he found Harrison sitting against a tree crying into his hands, completely oblivious to the fact that David was no more than seven feet from him.

"Are you okay, Harrison?" Said David softly.

* * *

 _Back with Preston, right around the time David went into the forest._

Preston had been sitting on that stage thinking for a while before David showed up, and after David left he went right back to it.

It was clear that this dual friendship he had with the two magic rivals couldn't go on in its current form. He loved them both dearly, like siblings. They both had a love and passion for magic(albeit with their own definitions), which was matched only by Preston's love and passion for performance and theatre. It was why he enjoyed being friends with the both of them so much, and why he tried so hard to get them to become friends themselves.

Preston didn't want to admit it, but he might have to stop being friends with one of them. He couldn't handle the constant friction and strife, the way he'd have to choose who to hang out with for the day because they couldn't stand being in the same room as each other without Nerris insulting Harrison, and it spiraling into another quarrel.

When Preston was hanging out with Nerris, he enjoyed the way she acted out her campaigns, and the way she put so much thought into their stories; there was almost no limit to her imagination. When Preston was hanging out with Harrison, he enjoyed his immense showmanship, and impeccable flair; he had a gift for drawing crowds and keeping them interested.

Which is why it hurt so much that they couldn't seem to get along; they couldn't combine their talents and passion to create something beautiful.

Preston thought it was going okay; sure they'd fight and argue a lot, but he was sure they'd work it out eventually. Then, this morning happened.

It was the usual argument, "my magic is better than your magic, blah blah blah." Then, Nerris brought up Harrison's parents.

Being the go-between best friend for the two of them, Preston knew things about the two that they hadn't told others, and certainly hadn't told each other. Harrison's parents were a big taboo topic, and even if they weren't, it was just a dick move in general to insinuate that someone's parents didn't like them.

Nerris had crossed a line, one that should've been obvious, but for some reason Nerris never seemed to care about. Nerris at every turn insulted Harrison for whatever flavour of the day it was, and every day Harrison would sit and take it, occasionally throwing back some half-baked comebacks, but usually just sitting there with an upset, or hurt look on his face.

Preston made a decision; it was a gamble, but it might just work out.

And with that, Preston got up to go and talk to Nerris.

* * *

 **Personally, I don't feel as secure with this chapter as I felt with the first one. Sure, the story progressed, but I felt like it was weak in some spots. Mainly the end bit with Preston, as I couldn't find a way for that to not seem like a bit of a cop out. Then again, this is my first story, and I don't really know how to write Preston. We'll see how it goes. Also, sorry this chapter is a bit shorter.**

 **In the next chapter, we see what Harrison was thinking about when he was running, we see Nerris again, and we have a small conversation between David and Harrison.**


	3. Conversation and Confrontation

**Chapter 3. I know exactly which direction I want to take this story in, so, nobody worry about that. This story is already charted in my mind, ending included; just in case anyone thinks this is one of those things where someone starts writing with no real direction and eventually can't think of anything else and lets it die. Camp Camp, and it's characters, do not belong to me; I am simply a fan of Rooster Teeth's work.**

* * *

 _(Back when Harrison first ran out of the mess hall)_

Harrison was running in a complete panic. His mind was running just as fast as his legs, and it was focused on one thing. Getting as far away as humanly possible.

Harrison could not believe he just did that. He was completely mortified, ashamed, and disappointed with himself. His entire time at this camp was spent training himself and honing his powers to prevent magical outburts; trying to turn it into something positive, and he was still prone to using his powers for immature and churlish reasons.

Nerris was right; he did suck.

He had been trying to reel himself in ever since the Max incident. Harrison was a kid, sure, and didn't really think about consequences, or responsibility; but once it became painfully obvious that Max was terrified of him for what he had done, Harrison had felt a horribly deep pit of remorse in his stomach at the thought of it. At the thought of his magic hurting another person... again. What made it even worse was that Max was simply an unfortunate bystander; Harrison hadn't even meant to hit him. It just went to show how uncontrollable his powers were, and that terrified him.

Sure, he didn't really like Nerris, but he didn't want to hurt her. In every fight with her, he'd just curl into himself; because the possibility of any ounce of rage causing him to do something that could never be taken back, no matter how much he wished it... it made him sick.

It made him disgusted with himself.

Harrison wanted to be away; he wanted to be someplace calming, where he could think, and be safe, and not hurt anyone.

And all of a sudden, with a second filled with a peculiar feeling of weightlessness, he was in the middle of the forest.

Harrison panicked for a second, not knowing where he was. Momentary relief flooded him when he spotted the card he had used to mark his favorite quiet spot, before being replaced with yet another realization that once again his powers had gone awry.

He just couldn't take it anymore; the constant anxiety that he was never going to be able to control himself, that he was going to hurt people.

That he would always be a dangerous freak.

Harrison just slumped against a tree, and sat there, head in his now tear stained gloves, wallowing in self-hatred, and guilt.

His mind silently went back to what Nerris had said. About his parents not liking him. He didn't know why that one stung so bad, because he knew it wasn't true.

Surely his parents loved him. Why else would they send him here to help him control his magic? They had to care about him; had to want him to succeed.

Sure, maybe they acted a little apprehensive around him at times, but why wouldn't they? He was dangerous. They still loved him though, that's why they always checked up to see if he had gotten any better at controlling his powers. Why they always asked if he was any closer to... making things reappear.

But... every time that he thought about it, there was still an inkling of doubt in his mind. He had to believe though; because if his own parents didn't love him then who would?

Harrison wasn't sure how long he sat there; time seems to fly when you are crying. All of a sudden, he jumped when he heard a familiar voice gently asking him if he was okay.

Harrison's head quickly looked to the side where he saw David standing there, peeking around the tree at him with a worried look on his face.

Quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, Harrison quickly went to explaining himself.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Well, I meant to, but I didn't mean for it to go that far! I was just angry and I-"

David was quick to stop Harrison with a hand on his shoulder.

"Harrison, it's ok. I'm not mad. I have a pretty good idea of what happened, and all I want is to help you two to get along."

One thought immediately permeated Harrison's brain.

"Nerris doesn't want to be friends with me; she's made that clear on multiple occasions. I don't want to be friends with her either." Harrison had an upset look on his face, and a voice to match, which turned indignant when he said the last part; almost as if he was responding to the assertion like it was made by someone else.

That was a bit of a lie. He did want to be friends with Nerris, but every time he tried she shot him down with insults. He didn't see any way it could happen. If she was gonna be dismissive about the idea, then so would he.

"Look, I know you two don't get along, but you two can't go on like this. I'm gonna sit you two down, and we're going to talk about how this will work. And gosh darnit, if I can't get you two to be friends with each other, I'll eat my hat!"

Harrison looked down for a moment. He thought about all of the things Nerris had said to him that further proved she despised him. Ugly, stupid, lame, sucky; every one of them made him believe more and more that she didn't want to be friends with him. Who would want to be friends with someone who had all of those qualities?

David noticed Harrison had a downcast look on his face.

"Awww Harrison, I'm sure Nerris would be delighted to be friends with you! She probably just doesn't know how to express it properly. One you two start tallking, I'm sure the rest will fall into place."

Something about David's overwhelming optimism and supportiveness would probably be reassuring to most people, but to Harrison, who had spent the better part of a summer realizing and internalizing that David was positive about everything, no matter how hopeless or misguided, it was no comfort.

Harrison did not, however, have the heart to shut David down like it was nothing. He also highly doubted he had much of a choice in the matter.

Harrison no longer felt like talking, so he simply got up on his feet and faced towards David with his head down.

David, taking this as a sign that Harrison was willing to give it a try, turned and started walking back, checking every so often to make sure Harrison was following. He really didn't want to have to find him again.

On the walk back, Harrison kept thinking about one thing. How on Earth could Nerris ever want to be his friend?

* * *

 _(Back at camp, in the mess hall with Gwen and Nerris)_

Gwen had finally managed to pry the smoldering remains of cardboard that Nerris called ears off. The glue inside had luckily protected the tips of Nerris' actual ears. The glue was also, luckily, not horribly strong(probably so that Nerris could take them off to go to sleep).

After allowing Nerris to rinse her head, Gwen went and found a towel to let her dry off with. With that, Gwen and Nerris sat in the a bit of an anxious silence.

Nerris had managed to calm down a decent bit after the incident. She was still peeved, but it was much more manageable; she might actually be able to not kill Harrison the next time she sees him. Which was good, because apparently David was going to bring Harrison here to talk with her. Great; she had quite a few choice words to say to him.

While mulling over exactly what depreciating words she wanted to say, Preston walked in. Nerris noticed he had a bit of a sullen look on his face. Preston had always been Nerris' best friend at this camp, because he enjoyed playing in her campaigns so much, so she immediately was worried about what could be making him upset at the time.

"What's wrong, Preston?"

Preston didn't respond right away, he just looked away and rubbed his arm. Preston didn't like having to put Nerris through this, but he thought it was necessary.

"I'm sorry, Nerris, but we can't be friends anymore."

Nerris' stomach dropped to the floor, she felt her breath leave her body, her face turned pale, and the only word for how she felt was, 'devastated'.

She immediately went into panic mode, she could NOT lose the only real friend she had made at this camp.

"Why?! What's wrong?! What happened?! Please! You're my best friend, I can't stand this place without you!"

Preston felt bad at the desperation in her voice, but he needed to get this out without caving; he needed to sell this.

"I just can't handle you constantly arguing with Harrison. You two are both my best friends, but the way you constantly insult him just... makes this impossible."

Nerris felt like a blood vessel burst in her brain. For the second time today Harrison was the problem. She should have been angry beyond reason, but instead she was still focused on the current problem.

"Please! Is there anything I can do?! I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"Not unless you can become friends with Harrison, but it's clear that is impossible."

Nerris was sweating now. She REALLY didn't want to be friends with Harrison, but at the same time, she REALLY REALLY didn't want to lose Preston as a friend. She bit her cheek and thought about the pros and cons of each option, which essentially boiled down to one would be annoying, and the other would be completely unbearable.

"Please, Preston. I'll try to be friends with Harrison, I promise!"

Preston appeared to be thinking for a few seconds. Suddenly a big grin broke on his face.

"Alright, Nerris. I believe you. Please give Harrison an honest chance, I think you'll like him if you actually let yourself try to be friends with him."

Nerris sincerely doubted that, but she had a plan. If this worked out, then she could have the best of both worlds. Not having to deal with Harrison, and still being able to hang out with Preston.

Preston turned and walked away, leaving Nerris to formulate her plan. Luckily, her glasses gave her a boost to Intelligence.

* * *

 _(With Preston, outside)_

Once Preston was a reasonable distance away from the mess hall, he allowed himself to break character.

"Woooo! Such passion! Such drama! Truly worthy of a Tony!"

Preston was very nervous that his ploy wouldn't work out; that Nerris would be indignant enough to outright refuse and he'd have to come up with another plan. He couldn't bare to lose either of his friends, so, logically, he'd have to make them become friends. However, all of his previous attempts had failed, simply because of their, or, more specifically, Nerris' unwillingness to actually try. So, he came up with a great plan. MAKE Nerris try.

Sure, Preston wasn't the best at strong-arming people, but he thinks this worked out pretty well.

"What are you shouting about, theatre nerd?"

Preston looked to the side to see Nurf standing by a tree carving shapes into it.

"Umm, nothing, carry on."

Preston could not allow his bluffing to be revealed to Nerris. If it was, she'd stop trying, and they'd have to continue on in this horrible cycle. With that, he walked back towards his stage, to write some more lines in his most recent play.

 _(Back in the mess hall)_

* * *

Gwen, who had been standing excitedly the side for the entire exchange, reminiscing that this was a lot like those trashy TV dramas that she watched, finally decided to speak once again.

"Do you actually plan to try and become friends with Harrison?"

"Of course," Nerris said, "what do you think I plan to do?"

"I dunno; pretend to try and be friends with him just enough to convince Preston to continue being friends with you, and after that point simply ignore Harrison for the remainder of your time here at camp as to avoid getting into another argument with him, simultaneously getting to keep Preston as a friend, and not be actual friends with Harrison?"

Nerris stood there in complete and utter shock for about twelve seconds. She'd never figure out how Gwen was able to do that.

"...No."

Gwen wasn't buying it, but she also wasn't going to say anything. Not yet at least. She kind of wanted to watch how this turned out. It was like her own little trashy TV show.

"Well, let's hope David can convince Harrison to give this a try as well." Gwen said in her usual weary tone.

As if on cue, David walked in with Harrison right behind him, looking down, and basically looking as if he really didn't like being there.

The two pairs kind of just stood awkwardly for a moment, neither really knowing how to start. David was the first to eventually break the silence.

"Alright you two, it's time we figured out what to do about all of these silly little spats."

* * *

 **Well, I actually feel pretty proud of that. Got it to over 2000 words too. I can not and will not promise that chapter length will remain consistent. I basically write until I feel it's a good stopping point.**

 **Next chapter might be shorter, since I'm not sure if I want to get one thing out the way and then give it a break before it progresses, or if I want to get through the thing, and then progress a little before I stop. I guess we'll see. Next chapter, Nerris and Harrison sit down and talk.**

 **Anything feel off? Any characters OOC? Any complaints? Anything feel rushed?**

 **Please read and review.**


	4. Talking And Not Learning

**I still own nothing.**

* * *

Nerris and Harrison were both thinking the exact same thing.

 _"I really don't want to do this."_

There was palpable tension in the air. David was sitting with Harrison at one side of a table, and Gwen was on the other side with Nerris.

Nerris had a bit of a pensive look on her face, mixed with annoyance.

Meanwhile, Harrison sat there, quietly, looking down at the table with a slightly upset look on his face.

"Alright you two, we're not leaving this table until we figure out how to make you friends." David said with his trademark over-enthusiasm.

"Or at least get you to not stab each other; whichever one works." Cut in Gwen.

David shot Gwen a quick look of uneasiness. "I'd prefer we end this in a positive way; you two really need to work out your differences, it's just silly that you can't seem to be in the same room with each other for too long without an argument starting."

Nerris quietly said, "Maybe if Harrison would stop being so annoying I wouldn't argue with him so much."

"Come on, Nerris. Nobody can be that annoying." David said with a bit of skepticism.

 _"Except you."_

"Alright, first of all, I feel like we should start with what happened at breakfast."

At this, Nerris and Harrison felt two distinctly different things. One was extreme annoyance and a sudden urge to leap over the table and start swinging, and the other was dejection, and remorse.

I'll let you guess who's who.

Harrison started self-conciously wringing his gloved hands together in his lap.

Nerris quickly jumped up, pointing at Harrison. "He set me on fire!"

Harrison noticably cringed at this accusation.

"Yes he did, and while that was a very rude thing to do, Harrison," David pointedly said Harrison's name, acknowledging his part in the blame, and causing Harrison to curl into himself slightly, "from what I heard, Nerris, he wasn't exactly unprovoked."

Nerris stiffened at this; she was really hoping this would just fall on Harrison.

Nerris stopped and breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. She'd almost forgotten she actually needed to do this for Preston. She had to try and make this work.

"While I'm not entirely sure what you said, I can only assume it had to be something pretty bad."

Gwen decided to help David out. "She said Harrison's parents didn't love him."

Nerris' eyes widened, and David quickly gasped while looking at Nerris in shock.

Nerris was quick to interject, "No I didn't! I said his parents didn't like him."

"What's the difference, Nerris?" David had his arms crossed, disappointment evident on his face.

Nerris had a museful look on her face while she was glancing off to the side, before looking at David again, "Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't like my sorcery and quests, but she still loves me."

"Nerris, while I'm sure you didn't mean anything too harsh by it, to other people that can be taken out of context and be very hurtful." David had a serious but caring, explanatory tone to his voice.

"Seriously though, kid, that's a bitchy thing to say."

"Language, but exactly Gwen, so, I think the first step to getting you two to be friends is to have the both of you apologize. Harrison, apologize for setting Nerris on fire."

"I'm sorry." Harrison's voice was sheepish, and he was gazing down at his still fidgeting hands.

"Ok, good. Now, Nerris, apologize to Harrison."

Nerris was quiet for a second, before sighing and mumbling, "Sorry, Harrison."

David's stern expression quickly shifted to giddiness once again.

"Great, now, onto stage two. I think the only way to get you two to get a long with each other, is to get you to hang out as much as possible."

Gwen face contorted slightly, "Uhhh, David, I'm not so sure that's the best idea."

"You're right, Gwen. It IS the best idea. Thanks for agreeing with me."

Gwen let out a deep sigh, and went back to her usual sulkiness about having to deal with this situation in the first place.

"Now, we'll come up with a schedule on when to hang out at what times and for how long, as well as what you'll be doing when you hang out, excluding camp activities. If there is a need for partners during an activity, you two will be partners. That will be sorted out later. This will continue until I think it's no longer necessary. Do you two agree to this?"

Harrison expected Nerris to curtly reject the idea, and he prepared a retort of equal snarkiness.

"Sure."

Harrison's brain short curcuited. That was not expected. Nerris was never the first one to try and be friends, it was usually either him or Preston that had to initiate, and then Nerris would either shut it down immediately, or begrudgingly go along with it for a while, before it would inevitably fall apart.

"Harrison?"

Harrison realized he had been sitting in shock for roughly ten second, and David along with the rest of the table was staring at him expectantly.

"Oh, uhhh, okay."

"Grrrrrreat! Now, I was thinking that we'd have alternating days. Basically, one day we have you two do something one of you wants, then the next day we have you two do something the other wants. After a while, I'm sure you two will be the best of friends!"

Nerris and Harrison were a bit reluctant.

Harrison spoke up without being prompted for the first time since they had sat down, raising a finger. "Uh, but, neither of us really like what the other likes."

"Have you two ever _tried_ to like what the other likes?"

They both were quiet after that, opting instead to see what David had to say next.

"So, we'll start tomorrow, but who would like to have their day first? If you two can't decide, then we'll play rock paper scissors."

"Harrison can go first." Nerris said with a slightly strained expression on her face.

Once again Harrison was stunned. This really didn't seem like Nerris. He thought Nerris would do something like claim that his was the stupid magic, and thus she should go first. Maybe she really did want to try and be friends?

David had a big proud smile on his face.

"Wow, Nerris, way to take the initiative! Well, Harrison, seems like you've got someone to entertain tomorrow. If I were you, I'd spend a while working out how to go about doing so. The both of you come to me after breakfast, just to let me know that you two are getting started, and I'll let you know how long you two should be together."

With that, Harrison and Nerris were sent to their own devices.

For the rest of the day, Nerris ignored Harrison and played DnD by herself up in her secluded tower. The way she saw it, she wouldn't spend any more time with him than was required. She was really not looking forward to having to sit through his magic demonstrations for a day.

Nerris was nervous; if it wasn't convincing then she'd lose Preston. But Harrison was so annoying; she was seriously doubting her ability to go through with this.

Meanwhile, Harrison was in his spot in the forest, practicing some of his newer material. He wasn't really expecting this, but he was actually kind of excited. He wasn't sure if he could change her mind about his magic in one day though.

As Harrison and Nerris were both doing their own thing, they were thinking the same thing.

 _"I'll give it my best shot."_

* * *

 **Well, I feel kind of weird about that. When I read it back it doesn't sound so bad, but when I was initially writing it I felt like my brain wasn't working to full capacity. I think it might have been something to do with me not being as interested in this chapter as I was for the others. Oh well though, I got it out.**

 **While this is mainly just a bit of a transitionary chapter to get into the actual story bits, there is some stuff hidden in here that you can either try to figure out now, or just wait and maybe it'll come to you later when more is revealed.**

 **I should say that every time a new episode is about to be released, I get nervous that it's gonna be the episode that resolves Nerris and Harrison's conflict. I'll be happy but sad at the same time; bittersweet, if you will. No matter what though, I am going to do this fanfic. It might not be good, and it might be a bit OOC or AU, but I'll do it.**

 **Next chapter, it's the first day.**

 **Read and review please.**


	5. First Day Faking

**Still own nothing.**

* * *

Nerris woke up and proceeded to cherish that limbo like moment between opening your eyes and being fully awake, in which all of your problems are but a foggy haze in the back of the brain; that sweet single moment.

All too soon, the moment ended, and Nerris was forced to face reality once more. Today was the day she would have to hang out with Harrison.

Figuring she might as well bite the bullet, Nerris got up, put on her various accessories, and left her tent.

The sun had just barely started coming up. Getting up at this time was so natural at this point that it wasn't long before the rest of the campers were up and about. David would usually be here within the hour to call them all to breakfast, so, they had roughly that much time to chat and hang out.

Nerris saw Preston standing and talking with Harrison over by their tent, and immediately grimaced. She was hoping to start her day off in a good mood as to make the rest of it bearable, but with Preston being around Harrison, she couldn't run the risk of an argument, and thus, couldn't talk with her best friend.

This sucked royally.

She decided to go and chat a bit with Ered. Ever since Nerris helped her get her confidence back, they'd been on general speaking terms; before, Ered wouldn't be caught dead talking to Nerris, but now, they were… friends? It was hard to tell with Ered, since she was usually above general social interaction.

Ered had been standing off leaning against a tree listening to music with her headphones in, occasionally bumping her head.

"Hey, Ered," said Nerris in a weary tone.

"'Sup, Elf Ears, what's eating you?"

"David is making me and Harrison start spending time together starting today. Something about having us get along and become friends so that we stop arguing. I'm like Galadriel being forced to buddy up with Sauron." Nerris' shoulders slumped.

After seeing the blank stare on Ered's face, Nerris took on a look of realization and face palmed, deciding to use more appropriate vernacular.

"It's uncool."

"Why don't you just NOT do it then? That's what I always do if I think something's uncool."

"Because if I don't do it then Preston says he's gonna stop being my friend. I know that you and I talk sometimes, but I need someone to play my campaigns with, and Preston is the only one willing to."

"Sounds like it blows, but fair enough." Ered shrugged with the last part.

"Yeah, but I came over here because I wanted to talk about anything but, so enough about Harrison. I was practicing with that skateboard you gave me, and I think I'm ready to try an ollie."

* * *

 _(With Harrison and Preston)_

Preston had decided to check up on Harrison this morning. Preston hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Harrison yesterday, so he had no idea of what had become of their argument, or what David had done.

"GOOD MORNING, HARRISON!"

Harrison had been standing and doing some simple sleight of hand with handful of cards. Preston's sudden outburst jolted him, causing him to drop the cards, and watching as they gently floated down to the ground.

"Don't do that, Preston," scolded Harrison as he crouched down and picked up the thin slips of cardboard.

"Sorry, but, I wanted to see how you're doing after what happened yesterday with Nerris."

Harrison tensed up at this. He'd barely even remembered it this morning, but after a full day of reflection, his nerves were on edge. "Oh. I'm fine, I guess. David is making Nerris hang out with me today, and I think I will be hanging out with her tomorrow. Something about making us become friends."

"Hmmm, not exactly what I would've done, but I suppose whatever works."

"Do you think you could be there to try and mediate? I'm not really sure what she thinks about this; she didn't seem against it, but I don't know."

"Sorry, I'm currently working on my most recent play. It's going to be a reimagining of _The Taming Of The Shrew,_ except with LOTS of zombies," said Preston, with a dramatic pose, striking his upturned palm into the air.

"That sounds… interesting, Preston," said Harrison, awkwardly glancing back and forth between his friend's eyes and literally anywhere else.

"Either way, I cannot be the constant mediator for you two. If you two can't get along without me being there, then the fragile dynamic our group has established is TRAGICALLY DESTINED TO CRUMBLE!" Preston emphasized this with a shaking fist struck into the air, before being brought back down into his chest.

Harrison sighed, "Well, let's hope this turns out for the best. I've set up some of my best new material, so I hope it impresses her. Hell, for all I know she's already planning to tell David she backed out."

"Oh, something tells me she'll be willing to cooperate," said Preston with confident grin on his face.

Harrison had a small look of confusion on his face, but quickly shook his head and went back to normal.

"I hope so."

Preston smirked, "Oh? Why are you so hopeful?"

Getting what Preston was insinuating, Harrison quickly squashed that false assumption.

"Not like that. I'm just tired of arguing with her so much. Also, she's… kind of… one of my goals." Harrison began absentmindedly fiddling with his gloves.

"Goals?"

"Like a personal goal; if I can get her to like me, then maybe I can get others to like me too."

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess. But why do you need her to like you to get others to like you? You're pretty FANTASTIC if you ask me."

Harrison smiled at Preston's compliment, but decided to elaborate.

"Well… ever since camp started, it seems like she's getting more and more people to like her, while I'm getting more and more people to hate me."

Preston's eyes widened at this. "Hate you? What do you mean hate you?"

"Well, Nurf has always sort of hated everyone at this camp, but it really feels like he has come to hate me the most."

"I beg to differ. Have you not SEEN how many times he has assaulted me? I STILL flinch whenever he moves too quick around me," Preston said with an indignant tone, rubbing his right eye absently.

"But… doesn't he help you with your performances a lot?"

"Well _yeah_ ; he's got a lot of ENERGY and PASSION. Plus, he's a great stagehand."

"Okaaaay. But, even after that, Neil hates my guts because he can't factify my magic, Max has made an effort to not even look at me ever since I made him spew magic props for a day and a half, and Dolph is still offended over my apparent 'affront' on the art world." Harrison poignantly stated each point with surety.

Preston decided to pop in with an optimistic observation. "That still leaves Ered, Nikki, and Space Kid who don't hate you."

"Space Kid doesn't hate anyone, I'm pretty sure Max and Neil convinced Nikki to stop talking to me, and I'm almost positive that I became 'uncool' to Ered the second Nerris went on her 'cool' list." With that last bit, Harrison decided to go into the 'everyone loves Nerris' part of his rant.

"And while I'm making enemies left and right, Nerris is in good with Nikki, Neil, and Ered, which makes her indirectly good with the entirety of the rest of the camp."

Preston cut in, "Yeah, but she's still lonely. I'm the only one who ever participates in her games; it's not like everyone's DYING to play along with her fantasies just because they are generally friendly with her."

Harrison took on a thoughtful gaze, mechanically flipping his playing cards around in his fingers.

Melodic whistling echoed through the air, signaling David coming down the trail to the tents.

"Alright, everyone! Time for breakfast!"

"Right, like everyone's in a hurry to choke down the radioactive sludge that passes for food at this makeshift prison that we call a camp," said Max with sarcasm.

David didn't even acknowledge that Max had said anything negative, he just turned around with a big smile and proceeded to lead the way to the mess hall.

Once everyone was in the mess hall, the groups began to form. Ered, Nerris, Nurf, Dolph, and Space Kid at one group; Max, Neil, and Nikki sitting at another.

Harrison sat down and expected Preston to sit with him, but Preston shot him an apologetic glance before he went and sat with Nerris.

Nerris was sitting in a comfortable silence next to Ered, simply eating her food and thinking about the current campaign she was writing up.

Right up until Preston sat down right across from her, with which his betrayal struck her in the back of the brain once more.

"Aren't you suppose to be sitting with Harrison?" Nerris said with a biting tone, which came out funnier than intended with the slurred Ss.

Preston decided to ignore her apparent annoyance. "I can sit with both of my best friends, and I'm deciding to sit with you this morning."

"Yeah, you're such a great best friend making me hang out with someone I can't stand," said Nerris in a low tone as to not interrupt the conversations happening around her.

"Nerris, why is it such a big deal to become friends with Harrison? Why are you so opposed to it?"

"He's just so…. cocky! Like, he's so full of himself, like he just thinks everyone should love him." Nerris displayed clear frustration, straining herself just to get the words out.

"True, he does want people to love his magic. He's nowhere near as bad as you think he is though. Trust me, try to get to know him, and you'll like him."

Nerris mumbled, deciding it would be best to not argue, "Whatever."

The rest of breakfast passed somewhat uneventfully, aside from Nurf almost strangling Space Kid after he 'achieved terminal velocity', directly into the back of Nurf's head.

Afterwards, Harrison and Nerris both got up from their tables. Harrison walked over to David.

"David, you told me and Nerris to come to you after breakfast, right?"

"OH, that's right, Harrison!"

David looked up and saw Nerris making her way outside.

"NERRIS! Come over here, please."

Nerris froze and flinched, before turning around and begrudgingly making her way back over.

"Alright you two, how about we start off easy for the first day? Two hours, then you can separate, make me proud!" David punctuated this with a quick throw of his right first over his left shoulder.

With a grunt of confirmation, they made their way out of the mess hall, with Harrison leading the way over to his magic stage.

Once they'd gotten there, Harrison instructed Nerris to sit down while he got the performance ready.

While sitting, Nerris counted down the minutes until she could be done with him for the day.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Harrison was prepared.

"Alright, today, I will be performing my amazing acts of wonder," said Harrison, punctuating it with a slight wave of his hand, and a wiggle of his fingers.

Nerris rolled her eyes.

Harrison proceeded to begin his performances, occasionally stopping to talk to an imaginary audience, and calling Nerris up to pick a card, or hold something, or to 'make sure it's a real pair of cuffs.'

David would pop in every once in a while, most likely to make sure they were still together… and not killing each other.

Every now and then, a camper would pass by and notice the acts, and stop to watch in wonder for a bit before continuing on.

Nerris was growing more and more annoyed. With every time she was forced to come up on stage, with every successful act, with every enraptured camper, with every satisfied look on Harrison's face after he made something disappear, or revealed the right card, or successfully fooled her.

That stupid cocky grin on his face, the confident way in which he talked, the glimmer in his eyes as he juggled cards in his fingers, the smirk at the befuddled look on her face at the end of every trick.

At every time she'd clap, or laugh at a joke, or become genuinely confused at an illusion.

Every single bit of it was boiling up to her breaking point, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could last.

"Okay, you two. That's two hours, you can separate," David called from where he was standing.

 _"Oh thank the deities."_

Nerris got up from her seat, and started walking away, but before she could get too far, Harrison called out to her.

"Nerris! Wait up." Harrison started walking over to her.

"What, Harrison?" Nerris' voice came out less biting than she intended. She was a bit too emotionally exhausted to be snarky. Mixing pretend interest and real interest is very taxing.

"Well… I just want to say… thanks." Harrison had an awkward, but genuine, smile on his face.

Nerris was surprised. What was he thanking her for?

"For what?"

"For enjoying my show. I know we're not really friends, but I'm glad that you're willing to try. I really thought you hated me for a while. So.. yeah, thanks."

With that, Harrison left, more than likely to go put away all of the props he had gotten out for his performance.

And thus, Nerris was left standing there, a conflicted frown on her face.

That… didn't feel right. Nerris didn't really think it was that important to him that she enjoyed herself. The fact that he was seemingly happy that she ostensibly wanted to be his friend… the deception left a bad taste in her mouth.

David, who had been standing to the side for the exchange, wouldn't admit it, but he had let Gwen's pessimism get to him a little bit. He'd been stressing over whether or not this would work all night. This however, was excellent progress.

"Wow! It ALREADY seems like this is working. Nerris, don't forget, tomorrow is your day. Oh, and we'll be going on a hike in about an hour, so be ready for that."

David went off to inform the rest of the campers. Nerris remained standing there.

She felt a knot growing in her gut, and decided to go and find a way to distract herself from the unpleasant thoughts plaguing her conscience.

Why did it matter that Harrison cared about this? She'd have blown it off if it had happened before yesterday, and the only reason she was accepting it now was to keep Preston.

The plan was simple. Pretend to befriend Harrison, stay friends with Preston, avoid Harrison for the rest of summer, ignore him when it's unavoidable.

But now, it just felt… bad. Like, evil alignment bad.

Nerris was assaulted by these thoughts for the rest of the day, right up until she went to bed.

Sleep provided no comfort.

Meanwhile, Harrison was once again excited for the next day. He didn't have any illusions of grandeur starting this, and was worried he'd mess it up and they'd go back to their arguments and spitefulness.

But, surprisingly, Nerris had gotten through his entire act without insulting him once, and even seemed to enjoy it.

This day had gone better than he'd expected, and that was worth a lot.

He steeled himself to indulge in whatever Nerris had planned for tomorrow, just as she'd done for him.

For the first time in a while, Harrison fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

 **Apologies that this chapter took so long. Essentially, my laptop broke, took me about a month to get a new one, I burnt myself out on Camp Camp, and it took me a while to get back into writing. Also, I'm still working out my techniques and general flow; I know what I want to write, but writing it is a process I'm still working on.**

 **No, Nurf and Preston will not be shipped in this story, but they will be pseudo-kind of friends. Preston doesn't really horribly like Nurf, but if his theatre training was anything like mine, he learned to put differences aside in order to work together. Also, I kind of like the idea of Nurf using theatre as an emotional outlet, because that's what I did.**

 **This is a very dialogue heavy chapter, which made it very hard for me to write. I'm way better at articulating thoughts than I am at articulating articulation. Trying to figure out how I think that the characters would express themselves was a giant pin in my side for the entirety of this.**

 **I feel like the second half of the chapter is weaker than the first part, but I think it all kind of meshes together decently. I would appreciate some constructive criticism.**

 **Next chapter, Nerris gets some advice, and we make some goddamn progress.**


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